Sitting on the carriage that came with the ship, it was still Xiao Jiulang who was driving the carriage. After all, he was the youngest here. Feng Biwei and Geng Xiansheng naturally got into the car wearing veils and disembarked with the carriage. Su Hou did not act alone, but sat on one side to guide the way.
But what surprised Xiao Jiulang was that the official road leading to Jinling City was very wide and smooth, making it comfortable and fast to drive. The constant worry didn't seem to happen, and Shen Yanran seemed to have disappeared. As the sun set, we saw the towering Jinling City from a distance.
Even Xiao Jiulang has seen many cities and prefectures, and once lived in that city known as the fairyland on earth. At this moment, seeing this ancient capital of several dynasties nestled against the mountains and flowing into the Yangtze River, I couldn't help but express my heartfelt admiration.
Under the afterglow of the setting sun, the towering city walls and the various tall buildings are all fascinating.
As we approached the city gate, we saw bustling crowds constantly coming in and out. Although the city gate was closing in the evening, they still seemed to be in good order. Just by seeing this endless flow of people, the prosperity of Jinling City can be seen clearly.
The car slowed down from a distance. Xiao Jiulang looked up at the majestic Jinling City, and even felt a little impatient. I heard Su Hou say that the current Jinling City is Jiangning Prefecture, which includes the two major counties of Jiangning and Shangyuan in the east and west of the capital. It leans against Yuhuatai in the south, pillows Jilong Mountain in the back, looks toward Zhongshan Mountain in the east, and has Stone City in the west.
The current capital was built in the fourth year of Qianhua (914) by Zhu Youqi, the last emperor of the Later Liang Dynasty. Initially, Xu Zhiyi, the governor of Shengzhou, sent his subordinate Chen Yanqian to rebuild Jinling City. In the third year of Zhenming (917), it was used as the capital city to support Yang Wu Gaozu. Yang Longyan built it in the sixth year of Zhenming (920) and re-expanded it three years later.
This Xu Zhigao was Li Ming, the great ancestral emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Since the death of Yang Xingmi in the second year of Tianyou (905), the power of the Yang family had fallen to the powerful minister Xu Wen and the Xu family. As the adopted son of Xu Wen, Xu Zhigao went from Guangling to Jinling Mansion. Xu Wen controlled the power of Yang Wu for more than 20 years. After Xu Wen's death in (927), he controlled the real power of Yang Wu as the prime minister and King of Qi. Three years after Tianzuo (937), Xu Zhigao accepted Yang Wu's concession and renamed Jinling Prefecture as Jiangning Prefecture, using the government as the palace and Jinling City as the capital to establish the Tang Dynasty.
The capital of the Tang Dynasty continued to move downwards and was much larger than Jiankang City, which was the capital at that time. The continuous development of the previous six dynasties emperors promoted prosperous commerce and gathering of talents, and became the political, cultural and economic center of the southern part of the Central Plains.
Although the car slowed down along the way, Xiao Jiulang still wanted to go into the city early to have a look. I heard from Su Hou that Jinling City now only has four gates, so the group entered through the south gate this time.
The Tang Dynasty's imperial palace is closest to the Xuanwu Gate in the north, which is naturally where the back gate is guarded by the Xuanwu mythical beast. The Hanxi Gate in the west is also called the Daximen. It is the location of Jinling City's defense lock and is tall and majestic. The Jubao Gate is the south gate of Jinling. It is bounded by the Qinhuai River inside and outside, connected to the Changgan Bridge to the south and the Zhenhuai Bridge to the north. It is truly the traffic chokepoint of Jinling City and is the central axis of the imperial street leading directly to the palace. The famous East Gate leads directly to Dazhong Bridge.
But I saw that there seemed to be a lot of people waiting to enter the city at the city gate. Although they were not inspected by individuals like other state capitals, seeing the crowded flow of people, they probably couldn't enter the city right away. Su Hou sat aside and seemed unconcerned. Xiao Jiulang didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he sat on the handlebar of the carriage and watched the people coming and going.
When the carriage and horses approached the city gate, Xiao Jiulang saw the tall city gate, and thought of his insignificance and secretly thought, this city gate is really tall! Seeing Xiao Jiulang's curious look, Su Hou spoke aloud and told him about these ancient relics. Xiao Jiulang naturally listened with interest.
But Su Hou's eyes kept looking around, as if he was looking for someone. When he saw the group of people on the left side of the city gate, Xiao Jiulang was asked to stop in front of the four female cultivators.
They were a few female cultivators wearing Yuebai Taoist attire. They were particularly eye-catching and easy to recognize among the endless crowd. All of them are tall and elegant in temperament.
Although they were wearing the robes of monks, they could not hide the beauty of their faces and their aloof temperament. When they saw Su Hou, they all saluted and called him Uncle Master with great respect.
Su Hou only nodded slightly, not at all like what Xiao Jiulang saw on the boat. He has a free and easy demeanor and is outstanding in his movements. But there was no chat with these female cultivators, and he just motioned for them to follow him.
Xiao Jiulang couldn't help but look at them carefully, because from now on these people were his fellow disciples and sisters. I saw a relatively small carriage beside them, but it was obviously not this kind of special carriage with a steel shaft. It must have been the carriage they just used.
One of the tall and fair-skinned female cultivators, with long eyebrows and phoenix eyes and an extraordinary manner, is Feng Yuchan, one of the head disciples of the Xiaoyao Sect, who is vaguely the main figure in this group of female cultivators. When she arrived at the door and spoke to the general who was in charge of the patrol, the general ordered people to stop the crowds of people entering and leaving the city, and asked Xiaoyao to send these two vehicles into the city first.
Xiao Jiulang was secretly surprised by the power of the Xiaoyao Sect. He vaguely saw Feng Yuchan showing a token to the general. Although he didn't know what it was, it must be something to prove his identity. Xiao Jiulang couldn't help but look forward to the Xiaoyao Sect's reputation in Jinling City.
When you drive into the city, you will see Royal Street in front of you!
! ! !
The lights are brilliant!
The majestic palace is awe-inspiring!
Silk and bamboo fill my ears!
The magnificent palace is full of joy and laughter!
The lights in the Daming Palace were brightly lit, and the positions where many guards usually guarded were all set aside for a banquet today.
Li Jing was sitting on the Kowloon silk chair at the top of the imperial steps. The table in front of her was filled with wine and food, including exquisite six-vegetarian and six-vegetarian dishes. The color and fragrance were enough to make people salivate. A full pot of Zhuangyuan Red Royal Wine was placed in front of Li Jing, but he did not move.
Looking at the banquets arranged according to different honors under the imperial steps, everyone seemed to be smiling. Li Jing's thin face looked a little pale, and he looked around at his subjects with dragon eyes and phoenix eyes. Empress Zhong was feeling unwell today, so she was not with Li Jing. Li Jing also did not ask his other wives and concubines to accompany him.
Although Li Jing had just turned forty within two or three years, her temples were already graying. The huge changes in these years were almost unbearable and difficult for Li Jing to face. His eyes seemed to be blurry as if he had returned to the past. It was also here that year, and he had just accepted the succession ceremony.
He has set his ambition to inherit his father's legacy and restore the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty to the Li family.
Facing the northern celebrities who came thousands of miles to defect to the Tang Dynasty, such as Han Xizai, Chang Mengxi, Ma Renyu, Wang Yanzhu, Gao Yue, Gao Yuan, Jiang Wenwei, etc., as well as the most famous talents in the south of the Yangtze River, Song Qiqiu, Chen Jue, Zha Wenhui, Feng Yansi, Feng Yanlu, Bian Hao, You Jianyan, He Jingtu, etc. Li Jing felt that she was omnipotent and that the world was at her feet.
It is true that he conquered Fujian without any problems. Although Wu Yue took the opportunity to take away some territory, he still lived up to his fame in the first battle. Then he swept across the Chu region and seized the property that the Ma family had accumulated for decades from the hands of Ma Yin's sons. He once conquered the western Guangxi region and became one of the largest vassal towns in the Central Plains.
Although he did not have a chariot to fight in person, his achievements in each battle were not due to his own decisions thousands of miles away.
Suddenly returned to reality, looking at the people in the hall toasting each other, the joy continued and there was peace. Although everyone seemed to have smiles on their faces, Li Jing knew that everyone's smiles were for her, and they were all performances with numb faces.
Starting from the third year of Baoda (945), in order to obtain greater benefits, Wu Yueguo continued to take the initiative to respond to the Central Plains feudal towns, and wanted to obtain benefits from himself, but he himself dealt a bitter blow. After finally destroying the royal family of Fujian, the Wuyue Kingdom has now formed a three-sided siege. The Qian family of Wuyue could no longer develop externally except by going to sea.
Although the vassal towns all over the Central Plains looked at him with admiration, Li Jing knew in his heart that his vitality was greatly damaged by the constant tug-of-war with Wu Yue. From the beginning, the largest vassal town in the south could fight Chu, Lingnan, Fujian, and the Central Plains at the same time, but now it is difficult to deal with only one side of the war.
The land of Fujian has been destroyed, the Ma family has ceased to exist, and Wu and Yue are besieged, but what have they gained?
From the thirteenth year of Baoda (955) to the first year of Jiaotai (958), Zhou State actually invaded its territory three times, relying on the knowledge that its vitality was injured. Guo Wei took over the power from the Later Han Dynasty, but he could not control the power of various states, so he did not dare to invade himself. But now that Guo Rong wanted to develop, he also had to worry about harassment from the Northern Han Dynasty. Only the Southern Han Dynasty came to gain power.
I didn't expect that I would become Guo Rong's primary target, but the current situation is indeed reasonable. Shuzhong, which borders Zhou State, can rely on natural protection to be safe. Although I also have the natural danger of the Yangtze River, the land of the Huaibei states is now completely lost!
Li Jing liked to see this kind of happy situation, but the long-term depression in his heart still prevented Li Jing from showing too much excitement. Others may think that Long Yan will inevitably gain more prestige as he ascends the throne, but Li Jing knows that he is in trouble.
I have worked hard and wanted to unify the country, but is it still possible now? Originally, the ancestral teachings were that brothers should succeed to the throne, but he was the crown prince! Li Jing also had some words in her heart that she couldn't say, because although brothers are friendly, don't people often say that father and son are closely related by flesh and blood?
Everyone thought that he wanted to pass on his position to his son, so he found an excuse to kill the emperor's younger brother. Even if others speculated like this, so what if he is still the emperor now! Because the Tang Dynasty has always been a scenic and prosperous place. With this great river and mountain in your hands, how can you give up and not be happy all the time?
Li Jing was still lost in her thoughts when Gao Sixi, the attendant beside her, called out twice. Li Jing came back to her senses and looked at Gao Sixi with some confusion and fatigue. Gao Sixi, who had served Li Jing for nearly thirty years, naturally understood what Li Jing meant and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, Lord, Mr. Geng has been released from seclusion. It is said that he has achieved great success in practicing Taoism!"
Li Jing was stunned. This time, in order to welcome Duke Anding back from his mission to Lingnan, Li Jing summoned officials of the fifth rank and above from Jinling City and their families to the palace to celebrate. It can be said that Li Jing asked the Ministry of Rites to invite everyone including officials in Beijing, foreign envoys and several major plutocrats in Jiangnan.
After confirming that he heard correctly, Li Jing couldn't help but look to the right under the imperial steps. There were several immortal cultivators sitting there, who were the main leaders of several cultivating sects in Beijing. Gao Sixi's report just now reminded Li Jingcai that he had forgotten an important person, and he quickly said: "This is a great thing, please arrange it quickly, and please come to the Daming Palace immediately!"
Gao Sishi quickly went down to deliver the order, and Li Jing suddenly became excited. It can be said that Li Jing admired Mr. Geng very much. This mission to Lingnan was a bit inexplicable to many people, but Li Jing felt that there was no need to explain to others, so when he came back, he promoted Zhong Mo, who was accompanying Duke Anding, to a doctor in the Ministry of Rites.
But many people don't know that this idea was actually Mr. Geng's idea, and Li Jing would naturally not tell others about the purpose. Now Li Jing knows that she really has control over the developments in Lingnan. Unexpectedly, Lingnan has developed relatively well after changing its owner. From then on, Tang State's strategy towards Lingnan will definitely change.
Nowadays, the capital of the Tang State is close to the mouth of the Yangtze River. Although there are natural dangers, there is no fear that the Zhou State can easily cross the river. But Li Jing still didn't want to take the risk of putting her life in the hands of some people who had no confidence. So Li Jing asked several experts to make calculations, and they all suggested moving the capital by himself.
Moving the capital is a big deal, especially for a country. Nowadays, there are several places to choose from, but as long as it is a natural place that can be defended and attacked, it is Li Jing's first choice. All that has to be taken into consideration is the surrounding feudal towns.
Naturally, it is impossible for him to get close to Wu Yue Kingdom, because although Wu Yue is now surrounded, if he is attacked from both sides, Wu Yue Kingdom will definitely be the biggest variable. Although Zhou Xingfeng, who is now in charge of Chu Land, has too much time to take care of himself, he may one day turn around. If he wanted to really move the capital, he might have to move to the hinterland toward Lingnan.
Wuling's natural dangers have been difficult to overcome since ancient times. On the day he occupied Chenzhou in Chu, Bian Hao failed to guard the south gate and was driven out of Wuling by Pan Chongche, the number one general in Lingnan. And this just shows one thing, the miasmatic and uncivilized Lingnan cannot easily cross the Five Ridges and go north. So if he really wanted to move the capital, Li Jing would definitely want to move closer to Lingnan.
In this case, Duke Anding's mission would have a completely different meaning. Along the way, we not only discovered the cultural customs of various places, but also learned about the hardships along the way. Although Duke Anding has no ambitions, he has inherited his talents and his love for this great river and mountains may even exceed his own.
After he returned to Jinling City, he convened a group of literati to record what he saw and heard along the way, and recorded everything in categories. This is not only the greatest help to myself, but also the most effective help to Tang State in the future.
Just as I was thinking about what happened during this period, I suddenly felt a whispering sound in the hall. I looked up and saw a female cultivator in apricot robes walking from outside the palace accompanied by a young man. She was not Gao Si. Mr. Geng the scholar just mentioned.
However, what made Li Jing raise her eyebrows was not Mr. Geng and the young man beside her, but someone else following them not far behind them. Although they were not together, they walked into the palace one after another, which still made Li Jing slightly stunned.
This is a man who evokes many associations just by looking at him, and he is a man with enough courage in his eyes. He is tall and tall and has a majestic figure. Although he does not look very strong, he can still move like a dragon or a tiger.
As soon as he appeared, his presence was felt, including Mr. Geng and the young man walking in front of him, who seemed to have been overtaken by his limelight. Although he didn't say hello to anyone, everyone who saw him would be a little surprised and then take the initiative to salute him.
However, he didn't seem to care much about these customs, and he would always give a slight nod to indicate the greetings in return. But when he saw Mr. Geng walking towards Li Jing, he stopped. There seemed to be a look of pain on his face suddenly. Looking at Li Jing's indifferent eyes, he slowly clenched his fists and stopped.
Although many people seemed to deliberately not say hello to him, he didn't seem to care much about it. He saw that Li Jing actually stood up and greeted Mr. Geng with a smile on his face, but his eyes no longer looked at him. It seemed that his eyes became more melancholy.
On such an important occasion, officials and imperial ministers all wore official uniforms, not to mention envoys who were all dressed in fine attire. And those chaebol bosses who can squeeze into the palace to attend banquets, although they cannot wear some taboo clothes, are still covered in top-grade Shu brocade, or the famous Suzhou embroidery silk and satin in Jiangnan.
And this man was actually wearing casual clothes. Although his hair was tied with a wooden hairpin on his head, his short, unmodified beard made him look a little haggard. However, his ordinary yellow casual clothes showed his different identity. Obviously he should be a man from the royal branch, but how could he suddenly appear like this and no one stopped him?
There should be many people here who know him, or maybe some people know him but pretend to ignore it. But his sad eyes didn't pay attention to any of this, and he only occasionally looked at Emperor Li Jing on the imperial steps. Seeing him talking and laughing with Mr. Geng, although he couldn't hear it clearly, he should be extremely happy, but his eyes never turned around again.
Although he attended such an occasion in casual clothes, no one seemed to stand up to reprimand him, including officials from the Ministry of Etiquette. But what is strange is that even an ordinary petty official is not too respectful to him.
Seeing that Li Jing's eyes never turned around, there seemed to be more pain in his eyes. When his eyes swept across the hall, he suddenly saw Duke Anding sitting in the front row on the left. His eyes lingered on Duke Anding for a moment, but he didn't expect that Duke Anding also looked over.
Duke Anding was slightly startled at first and opened his mouth several times, but in the end no sound came out. Seeing the man looking at her, his eyes seemed to be in a trance. First, he wanted to avert his eyes, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the man still looking at him, and actually lowered his head.
The man's figure swayed slightly, as if his nose was sore, and he slowly turned his head to this side, no longer looking at Duke Anding. When his eyes finally looked towards Li Jing, he found that Li Jing seemed to want to invite Mr. Geng to sit next to him, but Mr. Geng was trying his best to avoid it.
The man sighed slightly in his heart, turned around and walked out. Because there were more people at the banquet this time, the banquet was placed in the corridor and courtyard outside the Daming Palace. The man kept walking and seemed to stagger a little. When he saw someone looking at him, he slowly stood still.
He finally stopped at the rockery in the courtyard outside the palace and never joined the excitement here again. Looking at the figure, it seems that he is standing there alone, but he has no intention of communicating with those around him. Looking at him standing there arrogantly, he suddenly seemed to be very domineering in his movements, but it didn't give people the feeling of domineering.
He stood there quietly, although he made no sound, but still looked at the situation here and in the palace. I saw Mr. Geng and the young man sitting on the right hand side of the imperial steps under Li Jing's arrangement, sitting with the cultivators.
He seemed to feel that Li Jing's eyes seemed to be looking at him from a distance, and he couldn't help but straighten his back. Suddenly he looked calm and calm, giving people the feeling of having been in a high position for a long time. Looking at the situation over there, Li Jing seemed to be expecting something. There was no expression on his face that no one was close to him.
His pale eyes seemed very calm, as if he had seen through it all. He did not deliberately look at everyone, but his spirit gradually passed over everyone, and would stay for a short time. But in the end, his eyes will look in the direction of Li Jing.
No one even saw the loneliness in his eyes, but felt the calmness and calmness in his eyes. Or it was a kind of high-minded attitude. It was this kind of unintentional stay that seemed to make him know everyone.
Obviously many people here have seen his presence. I don’t know if it is because of the presence of Emperor Li Jing, and Li Jing did not show any sign of him, or because of the presence of envoys from Zhou State and envoys from Lingnan. However, everyone actually didn't pay much attention to him.
He seemed to be expecting everyone's behavior, and his eyes seemed to look neither sad nor happy. Although he looked at everyone along the way, his gaze did not stay for too long, and then he immediately turned to look at the next person. His look is not offensive or nervous, because there is no trace of deliberateness in it.
It's like standing on the roadside and accidentally meeting someone. The other person glances at you casually, and you don't even pay attention, or you don't even see the person clearly. The other party's look is just to confirm your existence. As for the purpose of your existence, or whether you exist here, it has nothing to do with him. He just glanced at you in passing.
This is not a kind of indifference, but in his eyes, or in his heart, most people would not make him care at all.
If people who have been looked at by his eyes notice his eyes, they will naturally feel a little surprised and curious in their hearts. People who know him don't know what they will feel in their hearts; while people who have not seen his eyes will be surprised. There was an invisible feeling of being spied on. There must be very few people who didn't know him.
Although everyone did not avoid him, it was obvious that some people deliberately avoided his eyes. This man in bright yellow casual clothes is obviously not an ordinary person, but the fact that he only tied his hair with a wooden hairpin shows that he is just an ordinary person!
How could ordinary people come here!
Of course, the confidence and casualness in his eyes, coupled with the feeling radiating from his body, make people feel that he is a person with enough confidence and self-discipline. The well-timed patrolling and unobtrusive inspection caused everyone who saw his presence to look at him, but then immediately turned away.
This person is a focus, this person should be a focus.
